Updated - So Now What? I Have Some Suggestions
Last updated 05/08
I never want to be one of those loud mouth people who complains without making suggestions. In part I thank art school for that. In “crit” classes (critiques - you show your work and discuss it with your fellow students) you’re never allowed to say that you either like or don’t like something without discussing why (at least if your professor is on the ball).
The hardest part of any situation that produces hurt, anger and/or frustration is not being able to unequivocally say “it happened because of X”, “it’s X’s fault”.
When the fault is obvious you have a clear cut place to channel that anger, hurt and/or frustration… or at the very least, a starting to point to understand why it even happened!
What happened in the Derby is a very sad symptom of a lot of complex and interwoven issues. As the media coverage escalates and the “activists” call for our heads, I think it’s our duty to make suggestions about how to proceed. It’s hard, for me at least, to defend our sport (that I love) by saying that we have installed some synthetic tracks. Why? We need to do more, a LOT more.
So here are my ideas. They’re meant to start a discussion that includes gathering more ideas and suggestions, refining these and tying to figure out how to make them actionable. None of these are original ideas and certainly have been discussed elsewhere, but this is meant to compile them into one big list.
Keep 2 things in mind 1) these are ideas, not decrees and 2) that I created this list throughout the day (i.e., haven’t been laboring over it), so consider it a draft or a “brain dump” (one of my most hated corporate expressions, right up there with “bio break”… ). Also, the order is random.
Enough with the caveats, here’s the list…
Collect data on all break downs to determine:
- age, sex, equipment, connections, breeder, race type (general information)
- lineage (any developing patterns in breeding)
- surface type & condition (was the track sealed?, synth, dirt, grass, etc - do tracks keep maintenance records?)
- necropsy (condition that could have been foreseen with a certain exam?)
- New: information should be a publicly accessible database, not just for breeders but for everyone (dana - added 05/06)
- New: convene panel of equine vets to determine parameters for acceptable proportions of height, weight and leg circumference (Aelinie - added 05/08)
Also, let’s find out what other countries are collecting and learning.
Ban whipping
- “most horses will give you everything they have without the whip” - Jerry Baily
- “I think we should do away with whips completely” - Randy Moss
- “…usually the horses that want to run don’t have to be whipped” - Jim Squires
- “Our sport looks to newcomers like a bunch of people beating horses with sticks” - comment at GbG
Ban drugging, period
- Race days meds
- Ban steroids (test before sales)
Create serious consequences
Not only for trainers but for owners and vets - when everyone is on the on the line there is more pressure to adhere. Consequences should also exist across jurisdictions.
Stop over sealing tracks
Create national standards for track maintenance and fine when track conditions are found to be unsafe with bigger fines when horses are injured because of it.
Breeding
- Reduce number of mares covered to a reasonable annual amount - New: 75 - (Cyd - added 05/08)
- Compile data from at least the past 5 years on all recorded breakdowns to find sire patterns (use the first bullet point under “collect data”)
- New: penalties for rushing off to stud - (Superfecta - added 05/06)
- New: stop breeding unraced horses - (Superfecta - added 05/06)
- New: Jockey Club could refuse to register the offspring of stallions who couldn’t at least make a minimal number of starts (Jen R - added 05/08)
Racing Ages
- Do away with 2yo racing and race them longer
- Create race conditions that do not allow horses with sires under 5
- New: Only race 2yo at the end of the year and only on turf - (Katie - added 05/06)
- New: 2yo under saddle sales end - (Katie - added 05/06)
- New: cutting back the distance of 2yo races - (Jen R - added -5/08)
Derby
- Limit the field to 14-16 horses
- Change the graded earnings structure to favor more appropriate horses
BC
- Don’t let Derby aged horses run in the Classic / “Distaff” (as an incentive to keep them running longer)
Educate “consumers”
- Why do people routinely buy horses out of unsound sires?
- Why are unsound horses rushed off the track to breeding career?
- Minimize “demand” through education
- New: make data from breakdowns (mentioned above) publicly accessible so people can do their own research (dana - added 05/06)
Bone Scans
- New: Some sort of sanctioned bone-scanning process before every horse’s next race? Kind of like a sobriety test—you don’t pass the exam, you’re scratched - (Ernie - added 05/05)
Progress
- New: What I would like to see most of all, however, is some progress - (Nick - added 05/06)
- New: Some of these things can be done more quickly than others, like banning racing - set some time lines and communicate about them regularly - (dana - added 05/06)
- New: top to bottom of audit of the whole industry (Jeremy - added 05/07)
- New: National ruling body created should also include a broad cross section of interested parties (Joan - added 05/08)
And lifetime bans for crap like this.
I think the NTRA (Hi Alex!) should create a task force charged with taking a serious look at how to make racing more safe that addresses issues across the board create a national ruling body with the authority to make and enforces changes. Not just synthetic surfaces but looking at all of the above, and possibly more, to see how each thing contributes and what can be done to address it. It’s daunting, but it would be a start. [New]
That’s what I think, what do you think? And I don’t want to hear “you’ll never be able to” or “no one would ever”…
Posted by dana on May 05 2008
Filed Under: Randy Moss, 2008, Industry, Greed, Drugs, Breeding, Research, Racing
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Some sort of sanctioned bone-scanning process before every horse’s next race? Kind of like a sobriety test—you don’t pass the exam, you’re scratched.
Good one E.
I love most of these - what annoys me most is that I suspect a lot of the data exists already, it just isn’t easily obtained or analyzed. We know what percentage of stallions’ offspring are runners, winners, stakes winners, etc. - but that seems to be ignored in favor of big auction returns.
I’m all for creating more conditions that favor keeping horses in training - and penalties for rushing off to stud. I’d also like to see an end to breeding unraced horses - we know they usually had issues, why pass those on?
I’ve always said that the most shocking thing to me about my first live race was the sound of the whips down the stretch. It’s something that I’d love to never hear again.
What I would like to see most of all, however, is some progress. It seems like the sport has committees and summits and does research and makes recommendations all the time, yet all the while things remain relatively unchanged. What has significantly changed in the past five years, other than a smattering of synthetics here and there?
Everyone spends so much time and effort debating the merits of this or that, yet nothing much ever seems to actually get accomplished.
I don’t know if I’m all for giving up 2yo races altogether but at least make them only held in the later part of the year (Sept - Dec) and only on turf. However, I would like to see 2yo under saddle sales go, pushing very young 2yos for speed to increase sale prices so early in the year (ie Keeneland’s in April) is ridiculous. No 2yo should be pushed to run an eighth in 9 & change that young. Does the Green Monkey sound familiar?
Trackback: Tuesday Afternoon Notes…
Hey all - thanks for the excellent comments and suggestions, I’ll be updating the post tonight to add in your suggestions.
I agree with virtually everything you say although I would suggest that a start on thinking about banning the whip would be to instantly institute the British rules-or a slightly modified version-and see if that works.
A top to bottom of audit of the whole industry is needed. Don’t rule anything in or out. Debate anything and everything.
Hey Jeremy… thanks for stopping by!
You know, I thought about suggesting that we move to the more strict British rules but y’all are actually good at enforcing them and I don’t have any confidence that we would do any actual enforcement… plus, in my heart of hearts I really think it’s wrong.
Watch Mike Smith whipping Gayego down the stretch in the Oaklawn and tell me you think he could give a reserved and appropriate tap now and a again… sad, but I think we’re too far gone over here.
I like this, Dana.
How’s this: National ruling body created should also include a broad cross section of interested parties: vets, fan marketing, jockey union, finance etc. Also, somehow there have to be women involved because women care more about the welfare of horses than many men–that is a gross generalization, I know, mea culpa. Bottom line, so that greedy money exerts less of an influence.
I would also love to see less of the $$$ through sponsorships (Yum! presents…) just go straight to the purse but to the rest of the field, the jockeys, etc. Boy am I sounding like a horse communist. What is Big Brown going to do with all of that money, really. What is Curlin doing with all of his money?
I am totally with you on covering mares. Horses should not cover more than 90 mares a year. Horses shipping to the southern hemisphere and doubling their work loads like Ashford Stud does is inhumane.
I am a horse communist, I am going to be very unpopular I predict!
I’m not at all sure about this business of not racing two-year-olds, since horses do seem to need some fast early work to build up sufficient bone for the faster and longer races as they mature. However, cutting back the distance of two-year-old races might help.
Something really needs to be done to change the economics of breeding. As long as it pays to breed horses who can only run a few times, but run really really fast, those are the horses we’ll get. I’ve suggested requiring a minimum number of starts in a year in order to earn an Eclipse Award, but that really only affects a handful of horses. I realize it’s pie-in-the-sky, but I find myself wondering whether the Jockey Club could refuse to register the offspring of stallions who couldn’t at least make a minimal number of starts.
I really like the idea of breeding less horses (being more selective and not so many being slaughtered).
Do not believe because someone elects to not race their horse you can tell them they cannot breed it, more based on the possible soundness of the heritage. Then there will have to be a basis for sprinters, middle distance horses and classic. But as in all living creatures there is always a “freak” that comes out.
The stallion farms should look into these things and the ability to only breed “x” number of mares to any one stallion would automatically get the stallion managers to be picking the best (soundest) to the best (soundest). I think 75 mares per stallion would be adequate!
This needs to go over the the Quarter Horse breeders also as they overbreed worse than the Thoroughbreds!
It seems this is the next logical step after all the data is collected, and could be implemented along with the bone scans prior to races……what about NTRA convening a panel of equine vets to determine parameters for acceptable proportions of height, weight and leg circumference? In the same way a jockey can’t climb aboard with he and his weight exceed the weight limit, a horse can’t enter a race if his/her legs are simply too slight her his size? This will encourage breeders as well as owners to breed sturdier stock, no?
Wow… thanks for all the suggestions! I’ll get them added in tonight.
Joan - I love this commie side of you!
Jen R - interesting point about bone formation, I know nothing of this in terms of how it should be applied to horses and at what age so thanks for bringing it up!
Cyd - 75 sounds like a reasonable number
Aelinie - the Jockey Club and NTRA launched a safety committee today but it pales in comparison to what Joan correctly recommends. I don’t believe that committee can be objective. I also think part of what can be done with the data is to determine who’s passing on what issues.